Caching Best Practices

Why Caching Matters

Every API request adds latency to your page load. Without caching:

• Slow pages - Each visitor triggers API calls
• Rate limits - You might hit API quotas
• Reliability issues - If API is slow, your site is slow
• Higher costs - Some APIs charge per request

With caching:

• Fast pages - Data served from local cache
• Fewer API calls - Only call when cache expires
• Better reliability - Cache serves data even if API is temporarily slow
• Lower costs - Reduced API usage

Choosing Cache Duration

Match cache duration to how often data changes:

The Caching Sweet Spot

Too short (< 1 min)
├── Many API calls
├── Risk of rate limiting
└── Slow page loads

Sweet spot (15 min - 4 hours)
├── Fast page loads
├── Reasonable data freshness
└── Minimal API calls

Too long (> 24 hours)
├── Very fast
├── But data may be stale
└── Users might see outdated info

Cache Warming Strategy

For critical content, consider cache warming:

1. Time-based: Clear and refresh cache before peak hours
2. Event-based: Manually clear cache after content updates
3. Scheduled: Use cron jobs to refresh cache periodically

// Example: Clear API Mapper cache via WP-CLI or cron
do_action('api_mapper_cache_cleared', 'connection_id');

When NOT to Cache

Disable or minimize caching for:

• User-specific data - Shopping carts, personalized content
• Real-time prices - Stock prices, live bidding
• Availability checks - Booking systems, inventory counts
• Authentication tokens - These should refresh independently

Multi-Layer Caching

Be aware of multiple cache layers:

1. API Mapper cache - Stores API response
2. YOOtheme cache - Caches rendered output
3. Page cache plugins - Caches full HTML pages
4. CDN cache - Caches at edge locations
5. Browser cache - Client-side caching

When troubleshooting, clear ALL cache layers.

Cache Debugging

If you suspect cache issues:

1. Disable caching temporarily

   • Set cache duration to 0
   • Verify data loads correctly

2. Check timestamps

   • Note when data was last updated at source
   • Compare with what you see on the site

3. Use browser dev tools

   • Check network requests
   • Verify API isn't being called on every page load

4. Re-enable caching

   • Don't leave caching disabled in production!